Just The Three of Them
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: Harry has only ever loved Ron and Hermione, Ron only loved Harry and Hermione, and Hermione only loved Harry and Ron. so why should there ever be more than just the three of them?


The first time it happened was Halloween after the Troll Incident.

Harry was woken up to Hermione shaking Ron awake. Harry has only shared a room with Ron for two months but he already knew what a deep sleeper Ron is and Hermione had to be rather loud to wake Ron up. Luckily for Hermione Dean, Seamus and Neville were even deeper sleepers than Ron.

"Hermione?" Harry mumbled.

"Hermione! What are you doing here?" Ron hissed over Harry's mumble.

"I had a nightmare," Hermione admitted, her face bright red and a very indignant look on her face daring Ron to laugh at her. "About the Troll...I...I just wanted to sit with you two."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I have a little sister you know," he grumbled lifting his blanket up for Hermione to crawl in. "Coming Harry?"

"Might as well," Harry said blindly making his way to Ron's bed and struggling to climb in. He wasn't sure exactly where Hermione and Ron were. Luckily Hermione helped him out and he was soon snuggled up quite close to her bushy hair that tickled his nose. "Erm...are you ok Hermione?" he asked a little nervously. He's never shared a bed with anyone before.

"I will be," Hermione whispered. "Thank you Harry, thank you Ron, for saving me."

"It was my fault you were there," Ron said, "I'm sorry Hermione I shouldn't have said that about you...I was just mad, you know?"

"Yeah..."

They were silent for a moment until Hermione asked a question.

"What's your favourite colour?"

They ended up spending the night sitting up and whispering to one another.

The next morning they were best friends.

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Over Christmas Ron cursed Hermione for not being there. Not only did he have to try and talk sense into Harry who was looking at a mental mirror that showed him his parents' image but Harry was having nightmares. Ron was good a looking after girls, after all he spent his life looking after Ginny, but he never comforted a boy over a nightmare. Fred and George had each other and Percy keeps himself to himself while Bill and Charlie are far too old for such things.

But he tried. Failed, but he tried.

After the detention in the Forbidden Forest though both he and Hermione instinctively climbed into Harry's bed, Hermione because she knew exactly how close they came to losing Harry (Ron barely knew him for a year and already he can't stand the idea of Harry being dead) and Ron because he had a hunch Harry will have a nightmare.

And he was right. Harry cried out in his sleep for his Mum and Dad and they held onto him tightly as they murmured comforting words hushing him back to sleep.

And then after the whole Voldemort under the trap door thing, Ron felt a strange restlessness. He couldn't sleep knowing Harry was not in the bed next to him. Hermione couldn't sleep either and they spent the second night (the first in the hospital wing as Pomphrey kept a watchful eye over them) sitting up in the Common Room. They decided then on that they'll sneak into the Hospital Wing and sleep in Harry's bed until he was allowed out.

And they did. Every night for three nights afterwards they snuck out underneath Harry's cloak and climbed into bed either side of him.

Madam Pomphrey obviously knew that they did it but didn't tell them off or forbid it. She probably knew it was a lost cause and they'll just do it anyway.

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George nudged Fred and jerked his head towards the backseat. Fred, unable to take his eyes off the sky looked at the mirror and smirked.

Ron sat up fast asleep with his head resting on the window and one of his arms sprawled out. Harry was curled up on this arm, his head resting on Ron's chest and his fingers curled tightly round Ron's t-shirt.

"How cute," Fred smirked.

"I know, I wished I had a camera. This would be years and years worth of blackmailing material."

"We'll just have to buy a pensive when we're mega rich."

"Definitely, this will bite them back for decades."

The twins snickered the whole journey back.

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McGonagall was stunned at the sight she saw.

She had been used to dealing with grieving children especially at adolescents. They usually raged and screamed and hit things and threw things. Instead Mr Weasley and Mr Potter just silently cried as they laid beside Miss Granger and clung to her stiff body as if they were hoping for her to move and wrap her arms round them.

She was very much aware that Miss Granger no longer sleeps in her bed anymore. Ever since the Chamber of Secrets has opened Miss Granger spent every night in either Mr Weasley's or Mr Potter's bed with the two boys. She knew nothing dangerous was going on with that, the three children were so very close and desperately needed each other's company for comfort.

Because of the fear of being attacked, McGonagall knew that neither Mr Weasley nor Miss Granger risked going out at night to share Mr Potter's bed when he was in the Hospital Wing overnight, the same with Mr Weasley and Mr Potter going out to see Miss Granger when she turned into a cat.

And she knew that the two boys won't be going out now that Miss Granger was petrified.

But she had a sudden cold dread build in her stomach that now Miss Granger was gone there's nothing to stop the boys from breaking every rule and getting their revenge for the girl they loved.

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Third Year was so messed up.

Hermione and Ron kept arguing and Hermione no longer shared a bed with Harry and Ron. Hermione knew this was partly due to the time turner. She kept going back and forth to do everything – her work, research Buckbeak's case and to have fun with Harry and Ron. She's had her menstrual cycle messed up and was so tired that she made the flobberworms look more alive.

She felt guilty, especially for Harry who must be having nightmares because of the dementors, and she missed her two boys dreadfully.

So when the whole Sirius Black thing was over, she curled up on one side of Ron, Harry on Ron's other side and she spent an hour apologising.

Until Ron shoved chocolate in her mouth and told her to shut up.

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Fourth Year was a nightmare for Harry Potter.

First his name came out of the Goblet and Ron didn't believe him. Harry spent three long weeks being harassed and belittled by the rest of the school, two days of these three weeks he spent terrified for his life when he found out about the dragons.

But Ron came back and they spent the night staying up and talking things out. Ron got over his jealousy and apologised several times over and Hermione moaned how annoying the two of them are. They regretted staying up all night the next day when McGonagall sprung a test on them.

Then there was the Yule Ball. Mortified that he had to _dance_ with a _girl _in front of the _whole school, _Harry just asked Pravati and spent most of it sulking. Only most of it because Hermione had interrupted the sulk fest with Ron to drag the two of them onto the dance floor and the three looked insane as they spun round and round, hands clasped to what's supposed to be a waltz.

Then there was the Second Task. Dobby told him that the Mermaids had taken his Wheezy and Grangy, he ran the whole way, took the gillyweed Dobby had given him, and swam as furiously as he could which wasn't much since he didn't know how to swim. And then, the Mermaids had the nerve to tell him he could only take one! How can he choose between Ron and Hermione?

Ron, Hermione, Ron, Hermione, Ron, Hermione, Ron, Hermione...

Screw it. He took both of them and swam off before the Mermaids could do anything. He had such a big telling off from the judges but he shut them up when he asked them how he was expected to choose between the two people he loved most. Because he did. He loved the Weasley Family, Hermione and Hagrid. If all of them were under there he'd save them all. So he gained little points but more than Fleur who didn't even complete the task (Krum saved her little sister).

Third Task will haunt his nightmares for decades to come. He didn't even want to think about it. The only thing he wanted to remember was entering the Hospital Wing and seeing Ron and Hermione push Mrs Weasley out of their way as they ran to him. He remembered throwing himself into Ron's arms and feeling Hermione hold him from behind as he burst into tears. He remembered crying into Ron's shoulder as Ron carried him into bed and laid beside him and he remembered Hermione lying on his other side rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder and back as Mrs Weasley tucked all three of them to bed.

The memory was bittersweet now that they weren't sending him proper letters.

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_"__SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE __"__THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT - WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?"_

_Every bitter and resentful thought Harry had had in the past month was pouring out of him: his frustration at the lack of news, the hurt that they had all been together without him, his fury at being followed and not told about it - all the feelings he was half-ashamed of finally burst their boundaries. Hedwig took fright at the noise and soared off to the top of the wardrobe again; Pigwidgeon twittered in alarm and zoomed even faster around their heads._

_"__WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"_

_Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, while Hermione looked on the verge of tears._

_"__BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"_

_"__Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did -" Hermione began._

_"__CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR–"_

_"__Well, he did -"_

_"__FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON -"_

_"__We wanted to -"_

_"__I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER -"_

_No, honest -"_

_"__Harry we're really sorry!" said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. "You're absolutely right, Harry - I'd be furious if it was me!"_

Harry let out a shuddering breath and shook. He couldn't stay angry. He'd been so upset, felt so betrayed, angry, and hurt. He missed them. They were his only comfort and he hadn't been near them for so long. He didn't really want to hurt them...he just wanted to let it all out.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have said that...I was...I..."

"It's all right, mate, I know," Ron said forcing Harry to sit between him and Hermione on the bed. "We're sorry too."

Harry rested his head on Ron's shoulder and wrapped an arm round Hermione as she rested her head on his.

CRACK!

_"__Hello, Harry," said George, beaming at him. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."_

_"__You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," said Fred, also beaming._

_"__There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."_

"WILL YOU PISS OFF?" the trio shouted.

The twins quickly vanished. Unwilling to face Harry, Hermione and Ron's wrath. They maybe Gryffindors but they weren't that stupid or brave.

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It was the exact same sight as that horrible night of the Third Task. Ron lying on one side of the bed, his arm sprawled out and Harry curled against him, his head resting on Ron's shoulder, Hermione was lying on Ron's arm, her head resting on Harry's shoulder and her arm draped across him, the hand holding onto a bit of Ron's shirt. To top it off even Sirius Black curled up on their feet in his dog form was there.

She clucked her tongue but didn't do anything. Harry needed the comfort.

She saw the same sight in Buckbeak's room at Christmas after her beloved husband was attacked by that dreadful vile snake. The only difference was that Buckbeak was being used as a pillow and the hippogriff was watching over them peacefully.

She wasn't surprised either when Madam Pomphrey sent her a letter and picture of the trio sleeping soundly together in the Hospital Wing at the end of Ron's Fifth Year, just after Sirius Black died.

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After meeting Slughorn and having his private chat with Dumbledore in the Weasley's broom shed, Harry wanted nothing more than to go to bed. He was a little worried when Mrs Weasley directed him to Percy's old room, wondering how he was going to cope without at least Ron to share a bed with. He hadn't been sleeping well at the Dursleys because he didn't have either one of his best friends with him.

But to his surprise and everlasting happiness he found Hermione and Ron fast asleep in his bed. He took his glasses off, kicked his shoes off and climbed in on Hermione's free side and fell asleep with his head resting on her shoulder.

He was woken up by Ron calling him a git and being pushed off the bed. They all laughed and Hermione helped him up and he purposely crawled between them. He hoped this is what his year would be like. Just the three of them.

Of course he had to be wrong, didn't he?

Lavender Brown came into their lives and Harry felt such a sickening jolt to his stomach as he watched Ron snog her. Ron had been acting strange since Ginny told him that everyone but him had snogged someone. He'd been making sly comments about Cho and Krum to Harry and Hermione while being generally rude to them. Now he was snogging this girl and it looked like his was having his face eaten off and Harry felt sick.

He left the Common Room to find Hermione who left earlier. He found her crying and immediately ran to her side and held her as she cried.

"I don't know why...I...I..."

"I know," Harry said.

He felt it too. It felt like his heart had broken into two and it hadn't felt like that since Fourth Year when his name came out of the Goblet.

Without a thought he bent down and kissed Hermione softly on the lips. He knows how she felt. He felt it too. But she was still here. He was still here.

Ron walked in on them kissing and they swapped such strange looks.

Harry was confused.

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Hermione and Harry spent most of their time doing homework or reading on Harry's bed. They did not make out, they did not go out on dates together and they were not a couple. But they held each other, they cuddled while they read and sometimes read out loud to each other and they occasionally kissed each other chastely on the lips.

Then Ron ate a love potion and got poisoned all in one day.

Without a second thought Harry and Hermione climbed either side of him in bed and everything had been forgotten. Lavender broke up with him shortly afterwards, something about Ron spending too much time with Harry and Hermione to be considered healthy. They ignored her, what did she know? It's always been just the three of them.

Dumbledore died and their lives changed as they planned to drop out and search for horrocruxes. They spent sleepless nights at Grimmauld Place holding onto each other and then when they broke into the Ministry, when they almost died, when they got that damned locket...everything changed.

The locket made them moody and irritable with one another.

And Ron got affected by it the most.

"I see," he said when Hermione refused to leave Harry; "it's always going to be just the two of you. I'm your third wheel."

And he ran off. Leaving them. Again. Harry was sure his heart just shattered. He cried, Hermione cried, they held onto each other, they kissed...they lost their virginity out of grieve of losing their third.

Harry finally realised that his heart was always divided into two parts. One for Hermione and one for Ron. He may love Sirius, Remus, the Weasley family, Hedwig and Hagrid but he didn't love them more than Ron and Hermione.

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After he almost drowned to death, after Ron destroyed the locket, and Hermione tried to beat the living shit out of Ron, the three of them curled up in bed together and Harry couldn't help but smile.

"I'm home," he whispered.

He felt Ron and Hermione squeeze him a little tighter and a general murmur of 'I know' could be heard.

This feeling...this content feeling...this happiness...it didn't last. Of course it didn't last. They were captured, Hermione was tortured and Harry got the biggest lead. They plotted and shared a bed and then broke into Gringotts. Voldemort found out and Harry found the last horrocrux. The battle happened. So many people died and Harry practically did.

Ron and Hermione didn't let him out of their sight for days on end. They clung to him desperately and he let them because he knew he hurt them so badly. They needed a holiday desperately; they needed time to relax... Harry needed to stop feeling so jealous when he saw Hermione and Ron kiss.

So Harry asked Kreacher to make the house liveable again. He then spoke to Andromeda and they agreed once Grimmauld Place was restored she'll move in and they'll raise Teddy together, the four of them.

Then Harry, Hermione and Ron jetted off to Australia to find Hermione's parents. It became rather simple really. Took a very long week but they didn't do much work, Harry hired a private detective and forced Hermione to sunbathe and swim for a while.

Ron and Hermione teased him all week as they finally taught him to swim.

One night, when Hermione was out with her parents, Harry and Ron got into a fight. It was simply over the remote control but quickly spiralled out of control.

"What the hell is your problem?" Harry demanded.

"I don't know!" Ron half screamed looking terrified. "I'm so damned jealous all the time and I'm not sure who I'm more jealous off!"

Harry stared at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I..." Ron looked embarrassed. "I...I'm jealous that you kissed Hermione first. That you...made love to her first" he mumbled.

"Oh..." Harry wasn't sure what to say.

"But," Ron said a little louder, "I'm also jealous that Hermione kissed you first too."

And it all clicked in completely. Harry loved Ron and Hermione, Ron loved Harry and Hermione, and Hermione loved Ron and Harry. There was no one else, just the three of them.

Hermione came back to find the two boys making out on the bed and demanded (because she always knew it was going to be just the three of them and was waiting for her two idiots to figure it out themselves) to join in.

Australia was a very enjoyable holiday.

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Strangely enough most people were very accepting of their three-way relationship. Mr and Mrs Weasley were happy because the three of them were happy, Bill and Fleur were very open-minded, George made jokes for the first time since Fred died, Charlie really didn't care, and Percy struggled to accept it but tried, while Ginny spent a few nights crying. Apparently she wanted Harry to herself but she got over it quickly and found someone else.

Luna was nothing but open-minded and Neville asked to be Best Man. McGonagall and the other Hogwarts staff always knew they were going to end up together and the rest of the critical world can just screw themselves.

They bonded and had a magical wedding, George lit fireworks to say rude things, everyone made jokes and everyone laughed.

Most importantly five years old Teddy stood up to tell the whole world how happy he is that Daddy and Dad finally married Mum.

Neville ended his Best Man speech with the perfect words, "It always was just the three of them, we were just waiting for them to realise it."


End file.
